Kim Atienza found a new purpose in life
Kapuso TV host Kim Atienza talked about helping other people who struggles from mental health issues.
Kuya Kim and his family went through a tough time last year. He lost his youngest daughter, Emman Atienza, in a tragic death. Emman had been very vocal about her mental health problems, and she was advocating that more people would be aware and understanding about this.
Five years after that tragic moment for their family, Kuya Kim found a new purpose, and he shared about this during his recent guesting on Talk Sheets with Ice and Liza podcast, hosted by celebrity couple Ice Seguerra and Liza Diño.
Kim Atienza has become a go-to person for those who are going through what Emman Atienza went through. He became a trending topic on social media because of his simple but impactful reply to a netizen who said, “Hindi ko na po kaya.“
The Kapuso host invited the netizen on his show TiktoClock. A few days later, Kuya Kim shared a photo showing that he and the netizen had met.
Just recently, netizens talked about Kuya Kim’s help to a netizen who was suffering from mental health issues. He offered to finance the netizen’s sessions with a psychiatrist.
In his recent podcast guesting, he was asked how his daughter Emman started her mental health advocacy.
“Kaya nga akala ko talagang todo good na siya eh dahil for the past na two years, she’d talk about it. Lahat ng mga podcast na pwede niyang guest-an to talk about mental health, guest yan. And I would listen to her and I would admire her on how articulate she was in expressing her feelings and her advocacies about mental health because na-experience niya,” the veteran TV host said.
Then, Kuya Kim shared that younger people approached him and would tell him that somehow, Emman had helped them.
“And ang nakakagulat pa when Emman died, I met so many kids who approached me, who went to the wake or DMed me, telling me that Emman was giving them advice and counsel. Emman was hurting, but she was reaching out. […] Sabi ko ‘Lord, Iba ‘tong anak ko’,” he shared.
However, he also realized that this is a problem and even called it an epidemic. Then, Kuya Kim shared that he started doing things to be more helpful for other people who go through this kind of problem.
“I’m actually going to take some classes in counseling because so many people approach me now because dun sa nangyari kay Emman, people I don’t know who are also suicidal, who also have mental health problems,” Kuya Kim revealed.
With this, he talked to Emman’s psychologist, and he was told to refer these people to a professional who knows what to do. He also stressed the importance of listening to them and “let them get over the night okay.”
For Kuya Kim Atienza, he was brought to this path. “Naging parang magnet ako sa ano eh, magnet ako sa mga taong nangangailangan ng advice sa mental health,” he said.